Half of the world’s population is now exposed to dengue fever. Several experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) recalled this estimate, Wednesday, August 2, as part of an online information meeting on dengue fever, warning against the progression of this viral infection transmitted to humans through certain species of mosquitoes.
“More than 130 countries are affected by dengue, which now impacts all continents, including Europe since the 2010s”noted Raman Velayudhan, head of the veterinary public health, vector control and environment unit at the UN organization. “Dengue fever is a disease that poses a strong obstacle to global health, the progressive expansion of which seems to know no bounds”added Ibrahima Socé Fall, director of the WHO’s global program for the control of neglected tropical diseases.
With 5.2 million cases in 129 countries, 2019 was the deadliest year in the past twenty years. After a relative respite in 2020-2021 during the Covid-19 period, the world is on track to record “more than four million” cases in 2023, which will mainly depend on the monsoon season in Asia, said Raman Velayudhan, the combination of rain and high temperatures favoring the hatching of mosquito eggs.
Majority of asymptomatic cases
On the American continent, more than three million cases have already been recorded since the beginning of the year. While Brazil concentrates most cases, the disease is now spreading to states further south, such as Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru, which were previously too cold for theAedes aegyptithe main vector of the disease in this region of the world.
The progress of this mosquito – and its cousin Aedes albopictus – is in fact largely driven by global warming, through the general increase in temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns. In a study published in April in the journal Plos Neglected Tropical DiseasesAmerican researchers have estimated that in most Brazilian states, the epidemic potential will increase by 10% to 20% by 2040.
Asia, and more particularly South-East Asia, is one of the most affected regions of the world and accounts for 70% of the global mortality burden. In Bangladesh, some 240 deaths have been recorded since the beginning of the year, and 234 in the Philippines. Although the vast majority of cases are asymptomatic – which complicates the epidemiological monitoring of the disease – dengue fever can prove fatal. The first symptoms of the disease – high fever, severe headaches, muscle aches, nausea – are not specific to it and can be confused with those of other pathologies. Only screening can then confirm the presence of the virus.
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